And I am not coming down!

Even the most skilled negotiator would have reached a road block during the Saturday morning negotiations. Miriam was trained by the best and had all the treats in her pocket! She had conducted all the necessary research and risk analysis in order to have a successful negotiation. Miriam even had a second chair prepared to play the good cop /bad cop routine. A re-enactment would have been something like this:

Miriam: Bobby we need to go
Bobby: NO!
Miriam: Dad said so
Bobby: NO!
Zonia (second Chair): Bobby it will be OK
Bobby: No! It’s my hair
Miriam: I have to take you to the barber
Bobby: I am not coming down!
Zonia: Come down from that light post now! Or I am going to tell Daddy.

Dad gave Miriam the task of taking me to the barber shop every other Saturday and Miriam needed to carry on with this delicate task. It is common knowledge that during negotiations you need to establish Goals: what do you want to get out of the negotiation? What do you think the other person wants? Or Trades: What do you and the other person have that you can trade? What do you each have that the other wants? What are you each comfortable with giving away? Alternatives: If you don’t reach agreement with the other person, what alternatives do you have? Are these good or bad? How much does it matter if you do not reach agreement? Does failure to reach an agreement cut you out of future opportunities? And what alternatives might the other person have? Power: Who has what power in the relationship? Who controls resources? Who stands to lose the most if agreement isn’t reached? What power does the other person have to deliver what you hope for? Well!!! We all understood the goals; we knew what was the expected trades; I was not going to walk to the barber and a pony ride was expected, there was no alternatives- I needed a haircut and the only supreme power was DAD!.

After many years I came to realize that this complete exercise of not wanting to go to the barber was just an excuse to be closer to my sisters. The price of the hair cut was $1.50; the price of the two candy pieces .04 cents, but to be able to hug your big sister while she carried you on her back; Priceless!

Once I was released from the torture chair and I was dusted off with a gigantic brush and powder like an old sculpture at a museum … I would receive the final pay off...My second piece of candy (by the way I would only accept red, orange, or purple flavors) and off I would go; rushing like a rabbit in an open field!!!!! Running through the Airfield, spinning like helicopters, rolling down the hills or just laying on the grass looking at the sky; watching the clouds go by!

After a long race home we would find that Dad had brought a four layer, coconut covered, white frosting cake with a maraschino cherry on top and thin, crispy, foot long, kosher hotdogs, potato pancakes or knishes from Manhattan!!! “MMMM ode to the potato!” We would sit in front of the TV, snuggled under a blanket; enjoyed the food Dad brought and built up the energies for the next haircut day extravaganza!

Potato Pancakes (Latkes) with a Puerto Rican Twist

Ingredients
• 4 large potatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• ½ green pepper
• 1/2 Roasted red Pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic
• ¼ cup Olives
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of red pepper flakes/ to taste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Finely grate potatoes with onion into a large bowl. Drain off any excess liquid.
2. Chop olives, red and green peppers
3. Mix in egg, peppers, olives, salt, garlic, pepper flakes and black pepper. Add enough flour to make mixture thick, about 2 to 4 tablespoons all together.
4. Turn oven to low, about 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
5. Heat 1/4 inch oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Drop two or three 1/4 cup mounds into hot oil, and flatten to make 1/2 inch thick pancakes. Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel lined plates to drain, and keep warm in low oven until serving time. Repeat until all potato mixture is used.

Potato Knishes a la San Juan

Ingredients
Potato Filling
• 5 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Picadillo Filling

1 lb. lean ground beef
¼ cup sofrito
½ cup diced onions
½ cup diced bell pepper (green and yellow or red)
½ cup chopped cilantro
2 recao (cilantro) leaves
¼ cup sliced olives
¼ cup white raisins
1 tbsp. capers
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz tomato sauce

Brown the ground beef, discard the grease, add the sofrito, onions, peppers, cilantro, and recao cook until the meat is done. Add the olives, capers, salt and pepper, and tomato sauce. Cook another 5 minutes or so to cook down any extra liquids. That's it.

In Puerto Rico picadillo is used for stuffing, which needs to be moist but not runny, so not a lot of tomato sauce is used.

SOFRITO

2 green peppers, seeded
4 onions cut into chunks
3 heads of garlic, peeled
12 sweet pepper, seeded
25 leaves of fresh cilantro
25 sheets of l recao (Culantro)
¼ cup oil
How to make it

• Mix all ingredients- cut into large pieces in a food processor.
• Process until the desired consistency.
• Add salt and oil and mix well.
• Then pour the mixture into a container with lid and store in refrigerator.
• Use it to spice up their favorite foods.

Pastry Dough

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Directions

1. Place potatoes into a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside if onions are not yet ready.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, heat 1/2 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and cook until soft and translucent. Mix the onions and their oil into the potatoes, and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside while you make the dough.
3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, 1/2 cup of oil, warm water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Gradually mix in flour until the dough is stiff enough to remove from the bowl and knead. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for about 5 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes to relax the dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
5. Cut off a piece of dough about the size of an egg. Roll the dough out into a long narrow strip about 3 inches wide. Spread the potato mixture over the dough leaving a 1 inch strip along one of the long sides. Repeat the process with a light coat of the Picadillo, pressing it on the potato mixture. Roll the dough around the filling towards the exposed strip, and gently press to seal. If you've done this step correctly, the dough will be shaped like a snake filled with potato filling. Repeat the process with remaining dough and filling.
6. Place the potato filled rolls onto the prepared cookie sheet, and cut into 1 inch pieces using a pizza cutter.
7. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until nicely browned.

Cilantro Aioli

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup of sunflower oil (or canola oil)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons chopped white onion
• ½ bunch of cilantro
• ½ teaspoon of cumin
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preparation:

• Blend the egg, ½ cup of the oil, the whole garlic clove, the chopped onion, the cilantro, the cumin and the salt until all the ingredients are well blended.
• Continue blending while adding the remaining ½ cup of oil and lime juice.
• Taste, add salt if necessary.

Alternative – if you don’t want to use raw eggs or are in a hurry, you can use regular store bought mayonnaise, mince the cilantro, onion and garlic, combine with the cumin, salt and lime juice and mix together.

Gabo

Puerto Rico
Buen Provecho